Missing Time
by sakinahmohdpuzi
Summary: Another test of friendship for Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey, guys! This is my first ever fanfiction so please read and review! Just feel free to point out any mistakes and tell me what do you think of this story. Now get on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

It can be just another normal day.

Well, if it isn't for the royal arrogant prat to be suddenly urging him and his most trusted knights- Sirs Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Elyan- to join his bloody hunting trip.

Damn it, Arthur.

So Merlin stands in Arthur's chamber, helping(no, not helping, it is his job anyway) Arthur to pack his shirts and other things Arthur suddenly cares about to bring along.

Merlin hates hunting, and everybody knows of the fact. Arthur, as always, finds it amusing and satisfying everytime he manages to drag his manservant to tag along.

The raven-haired boy just happens to know that the dollop-headed king is a magnet for trouble so he needs to make sure Arthur is safe. Eventhough he really favours the idea of resting in his little room, probably learning new spells, but it seems like he has to forget it for a while.

Finally finishes packing Arthur's bag, he leaves for Gaius' chamber, to pack his own. It will definitely not take long, for he does not possess many belongings here in Camelot, nor in Ealdor.

By the time he stumbles down the stairs to the courtyard, bringing Arthur's and his bag laden in his arms, all of them are already waiting and have mounted their respective horses.

"What kept you, Merlin? You don't know what to wear? Or you are suddenly not feeling well?" Arthur says, earning chuckles from the other.

Merlin glares at him before answering, "Well, I might as well arrive earlier, if it wasn't for a prat who didn't know how to pack his own stuff and ordered me to do it."

The knights laugh louder while Arthur rolls his eyes and says, "Merlin, shut up."

Merlin smirks and retorts,"I didn't mention anyone specific." Arthur smiles. "Whatever, Merlin." Hastily the servant ties the bags to the saddle and climbs the mare. In no time they pass the gates of Camelot.

Gwaine slows down his ride, to ride beside his first friend ever and eyes him carefully, looking almost concerned. "You alright, mate?" Upon hearing that, Merlin pastes a smile on his face. He nods and answers, "Yeah."

The rogue knight seems to be satisfied with the answer. He then rides forward to continue talking to Percival. Elyan later joins their conversation while Arthur and Leon are riding at the front, most likely discussing certain issues with quiet voices.

In which leaves Merlin riding alone far behind them. Truth to be told, he is super relieved that no one seems to notice him fidgeting as he has been sensing danger ever since they left Camelot merely few minutes ago. His magic is already rising towards his skin, preparing to react should anything happen.

Merlin heaves a sigh, quite loud to be heard by Arthur. The king throws a glance towards his frie-no, manservant- and asks,"What's wrong with you today, Merlin?"

The boy looks at him, obviously trying to conceal his anxiety. "I- I just- you know, don't feel this is the best idea. Oh, never mind."

Shrugging, the young king looks front again. He really does not have time for this. The council meeting that has been held the day before is driving him crazy- what with all the taxes and uprising issues and whatnot- and the last thing that he wants right now is Merlin being a _girl_ again, complaining about his bad feelings he's having.

It is his turn now to sigh.

He comes to a halt when they have reached a place where he finds as a perfect spot for hunting and the rest of the party follows suit. They take a crossbow each- save for Merlin- and tiptoe forward. Merlin, on the other hand, is struggling to tether the horses to a tree when he hears twigs snapping and the beasts whimpering.

Glancing the way Arthur and the knights have gone, he sees no one there. Great, he has been left behind. Slowly he turns backwards, bracing for the worst.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update. I've been busy with driving classes that I hadn't managed to steal some time to update as I actually made a pledge to myself to update new chapter after two days of posting the previous chapter. For that I deeply apologise.

And I would love to thank everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited this story. You guys are cool! Truth to be told I don't expect to have any respond for this story, so your acceptance to this story is highly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Now on with the new chapter!

Previously...

Twigs snap.

The horses start to whimper.

Merlin glances towards the way his friends have headed and realises that he has been left behind.

Expecting the worse, he turns slowly.

Nothing. There is no one. Nor anything.

He lets out the breath that he has not even aware that he has been holding.

The boy stands right there for a while, trying to confirm the absence of anyone there. He could have sworn that he has heard the twigs snapping behind him then.

Quite satisfied that he is indeed alone, he turns towards the way the others have gone.

He still have that uneasiness inside him, but he pushes it away as he rushes to catch up with the others. After walking for a while and tripping thrice, he finds them already succeeded in killing a buck and are struggling to lift the carcass off the ground.

Arthur looks at him for a while before saying, "Where were you, Merlin?" The boy in question seems to not listening and keeps looking around.

"Merlin?" Arthur tries again.

Just at the second call that Merlin pays attention. "What?"

"I said, where were you? What's wrong with you, Merlin? You are restless all the time. Gods, I shouldn't have brought you along. Listen, I'm warning you, if you make any noise that can chase the prey away, like you always do, I'll throw you in the stocks for a month."

The knights, though are craving to listen to them, especially Gwaine, understand their needs of privacy. So they stand a bit further, and pretend not to be listening.

Merlin hesitates before saying, "Arthur, I think- " He stops. The blonde man just stares at him. He pats Merlin on the shoulder and smiles. "Come on, Merlin. You need to have some fun. That's why we left Camelot today."

"I think we are being followed." Merlin blurts out. "I can feel it. Arthur, we need to get back to Camelot."

Arthur taps Merlin's head, touching and ruffling the black hair. "Is it your funny feeling again? Don't be such a girl, Merlin. We're on a two-day huntig trip and this is just a few hours of it. I've been crazy this whole week, you knew this, and this is the only time that I can clear up my mind. Besides, it's Guinevere's birthday. I want to catch something for her. And you, don't you feel like enjoying yourself too?"

The younger man nods. "But-" Arthur shakes his head. "Have fun, Merlin! Surely you've seen what we've been through this week? Just two days, Merlin. Come on."

With that, the servant relents. "Alright. We go home tomorrow." The king punches Merlin gently on the shoulder and beams. "Now we get going."

He then shouts to the knights, "We go the other way."

Merlin sighs. Looks like I have to protect his royal backside again. He moves to join Arthur but glances behind him first, in search of the earlier signs of being followed.

There is none.

/break/

Gwaine rubs two stones to ignite a spark while Elyan and Percival just return with arms laden of firewoods. Glancing sideways, he watches Merlin- his friend- who is busy unpacking pots and other cooking utensils to prepare dinner with the two pheasants Arthur and Leon have managed to catch shortly before they stop to make camp.

He notices that Merlin seems not to be at ease today. Sometimes he does not understand the boy, why is he so loyal to Arthur? Or why is he so damn selfless? If he does feel under the weather, he should have gone back to Camelot. But instead, Merlin tags along. He knows of the reason. Merlin wants to protect Arthur.

And Arthur. Oh, the princess( though he is king now ). He is so freaking ungrateful of Merlin's unwavering loyalty towards him and keeps on being a prat by treating the boy lesser than he deserved.

Gwaine is broken from his reverie by the sound of the fire flickering on the dry wood. Merlin is sitting next to him ( he didn't realise when ), peeling a potato to be cooked in the stew he is preparing.

Noticing that the boy has stopped his work and is staring at him, Gwaine asks, "What?"

Merlin shrugs, " You don't look alright." He says.

The knight shakes his head. " I'm fine. How about you? You still have those bad feelings?"

" No." Merlin mutters, almost inaudible

but Gwaine, being used to eavesdrop stories told with quiet voices in taverns, manages to catch the word.

/break/

Silence fills the air as all of them gather around the crackling fire, patiently waiting for the food to be ready.

The knights have just finished the dinner and are chattering away. Gwaine is telling one of his awesome ( or so he claimed ) tavern stories to Elyan and Percival who seem to be listening. Arthur and Leon, though not seem to be paying attention, join in the laughter.

" Really, Gwaine? You managed to persuade a noblewoman to accompany you for a drink at The Rising Sun? And what kind of lady goes to the tavern? "

Arthur asks, all the while trying to stifle his chuckles.

" Well, you can say.. the ones who is smart enough to think I'm attractive?" Gwaine answers.

All of them laugh.

Their laughter dies when suddenly Merlin comes rushing towards them. His face pale with fear. In his arms are the already- washed pot and bowls.

Gwaine absently wonders how Merlin manages to carry all of them together, all in the same time running. He then quickly shooes the thoughts away. Not now.

Elyan is the first to stand up to help the still- panting boy to put away the utensils.

Before anyone can speak, Merlin tells them.

" There's someone by the river, watching us. I heard them approaching just now. Arthur, we have to leave for Camelot at once. This place is not safe!"

The boy is pale. Totally pale.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Note: I know, I know. I'm so sorry for the late update. Seems like I have to cancel the whole update- after- two- days- pledge thingy. But I'm doing my best to update once in a week. And I need to apologise for the confusion for last chapter. I'm using the FFN apps on the phone so I'm still new and unfamiliar to it.

So there is a fight scene in this chapter but I know that I don't have that much skills to portray that in writing so any feedback is clearly welcomed- criticism, compliments (as if I'm going to get any)or suggestions- for I consider myself an open minded person.

By the way, thank you and a big hug to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed this story.

Now on with the fic!

Previously...

" There's someone by the river, watching us. I heard them approaching just now. Arthur, we have to leave for Camelot at once. This place is not safe!"

The boy is pale. Totally pale.

/break/

" What is the matter is with you, Merlin?!"

The boy flinches at the tone and stares at the ground, not willing to meet Arthur's fiery glares at him.

They had gone to check for threats and to Merlin's dismay, found nothing. Not even a single indicator that anybody was there.

Merlin frowns as he ponders. What is going on here? Is someone playing tricks on us? Or am I just becoming too scared of everything?!

No, my magic is always right, he thinks. There ARE somebody following us, watching us.

Of that Merlin is sure of.

" I told you, there is nothing! Can you stop being a coward, for once, Merlin? If there is indeed someone here, there should at least be a mark here, of anything! But there is none. So Merlin, you better have a good explanation for this." Arthur eyes his manservant for a while, and realises that the boy's mind is elsewhere.

" Are you even listening to me, Merlin?"

Merlin sticks his gaze to the ground.

" Merlin!"

Upon hearing his name being called, Merlin's head shoots up and meets Arthur's face. " I swear I heard them approa-" He begins to speak.

Arthur lifts his right hand, stopping whatever Merlin has to say for himself. " Not another word from you about this, Merlin, or I swear to God I will have you thrown in the dungeons when we return. Understood?"

Merlin purses his lips, trying very hard to hide the hurt he feels upon those words of Arthur's. Slowly he nods.

Satisfied with the obedience, Arthur strides off to their camp, being followed by the knights. Gwaine grasps Merlin on the shoulder, before giving him an apologetic smile.

Merlin then returns to their camp and begins spreading bedrolls around the fire. He puts his own at a spot furthest from the fire- because he's just a servant here- and the others' near the fire to keep them warm for the night.

Without saying anything, they retreat to their respective sleeping spot save for Elyan who will take the first watch.

Merlin rummages his bag in search of his blanket but does not find it. Suddenly he recalls being in a rush in packing his stuff and forgetting to grab said blanket from his wardrobe. Sighing, he mentally kicks himself for his forgetfulness. He ends up taking off his jacket before lying down on the worn bedroll and then covers his upper body with the thin brown jacket.

Lying on his right side, he puts everyone behind him. Silently he sheds tears, remembering Arthur's harsh words just now. Within minutes, he drifts off to sleep, with streaks of dried tears on his face.

/break/

The feel of his magic bubbling just underneath his fingers is what wakes him with a start. Slowly he gets up and glances around. There are still a few hours before dawn. Leon is keeping watch and he is heading towards the opposite direction from where Merlin senses his magic calls.

The raven- haired boy gropes on the ground and finds his sword. He quickly grabs it, discards his jacket- turned- blanket and heads towards where he believes the threat is. He walks with a stealth- that he himself is even surprised that he manages to do so- and after quite a while, arrives at the river, the place he first heard someone approaching him.

As if on cue, he hears footsteps behind him and swiftly he turns around, his sword swinging over his shoulder to attack whoever it is.

The man blocks it easily. His face is alight with malicious smirk as his companion appears from his back and moves to stand next to him. " My, my, look what we've got here? The crazy manservant of the king! They think you are being ridiculous, don't they? Do they trust you, hmm? No?"

Merlin tries and fails miserably to look calm. " What do you want?" He asks, all at the same time preparing should the men attack.

The first man answers, " Just the king. I believe that he will be very pricey for ransom. And now you are standing in our way, so we have to get rid of you first!" With that the men begin to charge at Merlin.

Merlin parries the blow and pulls back, turning to see the other man lunging towards him, his sword raised above his head, probably attempting to split Merlin's head to two.

Usually his mind works faster than his hands, but at the time it has proven that it can work likewise. Before he realises, he runs his sword through the second man's chest, who looks a bit younger than the first guy.

His friend( or at least that's what Merlin thought) rushes to him and when he finds that his confidant is killed, he looks up to give Merlin his murderous glare.

" You killed my brother."

Merlin feels his hair on his arms stand and backs away while holding the sword in front of him. " I need to protect my king. Both of you are targetting him, so I did wha-"

His speech is cut short when the man charges at Merlin with what he can describe as 'madness driven by too much adrenaline'.

The servant ducks, just before the sword manages to tear his head off his shoulder. Before he even gets to regain his stance, the tall, large man thrusts his sword forward, aiming his chest only to have Merlin blocks it. Again.

Merlin struggles to keep standing as the mad man shoves his body towards him. His shoulders begin to throb uneasily, he is now too exhausted as a consequence of fighting two men twice his size for God knows how long. He stumbles backward when his adversary does not falter his attack earlier and he almost trips.

The man sees this as a chance. As quick as he can, he pulls his sword away and tries to embed the sword in the boy's gut.

It all happens so fast.

Merlin tries to stand straight, having almost fallen due to being cornered towards a tree.

He does not notice when the man pulls his sword.

He does not notice it when the man thrusts his sword into his stomach.

He only vaguely notices that something has happened when he feels something sharp protuding his abdomen and that particular sharp object is pushed further until it goes through his body to his back.

Merlin's eyes widen.

Did he just..? Oh. Wait, now I can't protect Arthur and the knights if this guy goes to kill them later. I need to...

His eyes burn golden, and the man is thrown towards a tree. His neck snaps and he dies on the spot.

Merlin absent- mindedly releases his sword to the ground causing it to drop with a sound of clanking.

Wow, Arthur is going to be really impressed with what he has done.

He slumps to the ground, his right side leaning against the tree. His hands probes at the wound and he realises that the sword is still stuck in the left side of his gut.

With the last remaining of his strength, he stuffs his neckerchief into his mouth and pulls out the sword from his body. He groans in pains, muffled by the cloth and within seconds, he has thrown the sword as far as he can ( which is not that far, given his condition).

He mutters a simple healing spell to at least close the wound. As he finishes it, he glances at the wound and much to his disappointment, he only manages to curb the bleeding that the blood no longer gushes from the deep cut. The blood only flows at a safe rate- at least for the time being- yet the wound has not been closed.

Sighing from frustration, he grips the tree bark and attempts to get up. Like it or not, he wants to take care of the damn wound quickly.

It takes all his strength to get up and moves back to the camp.

And he needs to keep this quiet. Arthur is not going to believe anything he told them. Not after what had happened.

/break/

Leon looks around, waiting for a few hours for dawn to reach them. And then they can go back to Camelot. He feels like denying, but he has started to feel goosebumps by being at this place.

Seems like Merlin is right, after all. This place does give out a bad vibe.

The sound of leaves rustling pulls him from his reverie. He reaches for his sword and tiptoes towards the source of the sound. A figure is staggering towards him. He seems to be favouring his left side and Leon strains his eyes to see the person, his sword still drawn but lowered.

He finally recognises the man.

" Merlin?"

The boy collapses, his eyes flutters shut.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey guys! This is the next chapter, so I hope it lives to your expectations. I certainly love to make Arthur suffer for what happened, which I will, but not so soon.

To everyone who favourited, followed or reviewed the story, thank you so much. You don't know how wide my smile becomes everytime I checked my email. So thank you again.

Disclaimer: I never own Merlin. The same goes to the previous two chapters that I had forgotten to put the disclaimer.

On with the new chapter!

Previously...

Leon strains his eyes to see the person, his sword still drawn but lowered.

He finally recognises the man.

" Merlin?"

The boy collapses, his eyes flutters shut.

The boy is lying on right side, his hands seem to be smudged with something sticky. Leon turns Merlin's body to lie on his back.

" What happened? Merlin!" Leon tries to rouse the half- conscious young man.

He crouches next to Merlin and notices the blood- staining the blue tunic- on the stomach area. He peeks at the shirt and winces at the sight of the deep wound. This is a severe wound, supposedly.

" Merlin? Wake up, tell me what to do." He pats Merlin's cheek and when he receives no response, he speaks with calm voice that betrays his panic at the time. " Merlin, hang in there. I'll wake the others, and we are going back to Camelot at once. You need Gaius."

He tries to think whether he is to bring the boy along to the camp or to just rouse Arthur and the knights first and bring them here so that they can help carrying Merlin since it is still quite a distance from there and he has no idea the extent of Merlin's injury and the last thing he wants to do now is to aggravate the wound. He decides on the latter.

Leon is moving to stand up when he feels a hand tugging his forearm. He stops and looks at the servant's face.

Merlin opens his mouth to speak. When Leon sees this, he puts his ear near Merlin's lips, straining to hear the words.

" Don't..."

He's puzzled. " What do you mean 'don't'?"

" Don't... tell them. It's... just a scratch. I.. I can treat this on my own. Can you help?" Merlin's voice is slow, indicating the excruciating pain he is in. Leon nods but hesitates for a while. " But you need- "

Merlin squeezes his arm in assurance, " I can... handle this. I don't want to trouble others for... my own selfish sake. Can you... please grab my bag... near my bedroll? There are some useful stuff in it... that I can use."

The senior knight nods and stands to do as he is requested. Upon arriving at the camp, he feels the urge to wake everyone up and notify them about the incident that has taken place.

But Merlin says that he is alright. I should trust him, he has never lied before.

Leon picks the bag and returns to where he had stumbled across Merlin just a few minutes ago. Merlin is already struggling to stand, his face revealing how much agony he is in. The senior knight holds out his hand to help and Merlin gratefully takes it.

" Thanks."

Leon supports him while walking, and he asks, " Where are we going?"

The young servant lifts his bloodied right hand from pressing the wound and points to the front. " Over there... the river. I need to clean the wound."

" You sure you don't need- "

Merlin nods. " This is nothing serious."

When they reach the riverbank, Merlin walks slowly that Leon is afraid he is going to collapse anytime soon.

" Here, Merlin. Why don't you just lie there? Tell me what to do and I'll help you. But you need to promise that you'll stay awake and tell me what happened." Leon offers, as he is so damn sure that Merlin is going to hurt himself even more.

Merlin hesitates at first, but then he agrees when Leon gives him a look that says, 'you don't have a choice because if you refuse I'll go tell the others and we'll be riding home in no time.'

So Merlin tries as he might to stay awake, trying to recount all that has happened- leaving the bits involving magic- to Leon. At the same time the knight carefully cleans the wound and dresses it neatly.

Just as Leon is done washing his hands from the dried blood, Merlin confesses, " Arthur and the others don't have to know this. That prat will never stop blaming himself and he will... surely get depressed. He has so much more important things... to think about and I don't want to add more to the pile."

Leon opens his mouth to speak, but Merlin continues, " None of you should know about this. I just didn't expect to run into you when I returned to our camp to get my bag. I messed up before this, infuriating Arthur with my funny feelings." He then rummages through the content of his bag, and pulls out a spare tunic. He takes off the bloodied one that he is wearing and puts on the clean red shirt.

" Thank you, Leon. And please don't tell Arthur, or anyone everything that I told you."

Leon helps Merlin stands and slowly they walks to their camp. " You're welcome. You're a good man, Merlin. We are lucky to have you as our friend. Arthur is lucky to have earn your loyalty and friendship. But Merlin- " he pauses.

Merlin looks at him.

" If your condition worsen I will have to tell the others at once."

Merlin smiles. " Alright, then. I should just be sure to have Gaius check it when we get back. Until then, I'll be fine."

He sighs in relief to see that everyone is still asleep when they find themselves at their camp again.

He lies on his bedroll, placing his bag next to him. Picking his discarded jacket from before, he covers himself with it and watches as Leon stealthily returns to his watching spot.

" Leon?"

" Yes?"

He tilts his head to his side to get a better look of the knight. " Can you please... wake me up earlier before anyone else do?"

Leon nods. " Sure."

The young man smiles and shuts his eyes. So far the wound has stopped throbbing. I'll be fine.

/ break/

The journey back to Camelot is kind of quiet except for Gwaine's chatterings of another of his tavern tales.

If Arthur notices his servant's peculiar silence today, he chooses to say nothing. But he doesn't.

He is riding at the very front next to Elyan while Gwaine and Percival are in tow. Leon and Merlin are quite left behind.

Now that is unusual. Since when the two have become so close?

Arthur slows down his pace and turns a bit, watching as Leon talks to Merlin in slow voices, and can't help but feel a pang of jealousy at seeing how close the two are getting.

He hasn't spoken to Merlin since he yelled at the young man last night.

" Merlin." He calls out.

Said man turns to look at him, but Arthur does not miss the look on Merlin's face- it contains fear- but it shows just for a while and Arthur even wonders if he really does see it. " Yes, Sire?"

" Why are you not talking to me? The royal asks. Leon glances at Merlin for a brief second, before riding a bit faster to join the others, giving room for the two friends to speak.

Merlin smiles at Leon. He then shifts his focus towards Arthur. " Err.. do you want me to talk to you?"

Upon hearing the stupid question, Arthur tries his best not to fall off his horse. " You have not been talking to me since morning. Look, if it is about yesterday, I'm sorry."

The servant struggles to hide his smile. " What is it? I didn't hear you really well just now. Did the royal prat just apologise to me?"

Arthur laughs, before landing a smack on Merlin's head. " Idiot! Oh well, since you are being such insolent towards your king, I would like it very much to have you muck out my stable as soon as we arrive."

" Dollop- head." Merlin rolls his eyes. He is trying and seemingly successful not to grimace as suddenly the wound starts hurting again. Please, not now.

" What did you say?" Arthur asks, as though daring Merlin to repeat the word.

Merlin shrugs and laughs. " Nothing."

" Merlin!"

/break/

When they arrived at the courtyard, the sun is almost setting and Guinevere's smiling face is the first to greet them.

" Arthur!" She throws herself into Arthur's embrace. " Are you alright? Are there any attack by bandits or mercenaries? Is there anyone hurt?" She asks in a worried tone.

Arthur pulls away of their hug, and answers, " Apart from Merlin's funny feelings, there is none." He stops to look at Merlin, before gazing lovingly at his wife again.

" See, Merlin? There is nothing wrong with our camp last night. Definitely no one spying on us."

Leon throws a glance towards Merlin just in time to see the younger man favouring his side, where the wound is.

If only Arthur knows.

The royal couple move to climb the stairs to get into the castle, holding hands. Arthur stops and turns to see Merlin unstrapping the bags from the saddle. " Merlin, go tend to the horses, and you can proceed with mucking out the stables." With that, he leaves.

Gwaine pats Merlin's shoulder, saying, " Thank you, mate." And so do Percival and Elyan.

Leon studies Merlin's face for a while, trying to find any signs of him bearing the pain. So far, none. He still is fine, Leon thinks. But still he asks. " You alright, Merlin? I can ask a stable boy to do the job and you can see Gaius and have some rest before attending to Arthur for the banquet."

Merlin mentally curse himself for forgetting about the banquet. Of course he will have to help Arthur dress and then be at the hall just to refill Arthur's goblet with wine. He doesn't want Leon to make a fuss about his little injury, though, so he just tries to smile.

" I'm fine, Leon. Thanks for asking. It's alright, I can do that. Besides, Arthur will not be pleased if he found out that I didn't do as I was told." He pulls on the reins and hastily leaves Leon alone at the courtyard, deeply worrying about the selfless young man.

He makes a mental note to ask Gaius check Merlin after this.

/break/

Merlin leads the horses to their respective stalls and secures the lock carefully. The last thing he wants right now is being trampled by the horses had they manage to flee. He then fetches a rake to clean the floor from hays scattering all over the place.

The pain searing in his side forces him to stop working at once. He glances around, hoping that there is no one else nearby, he lifts his shirt a bit to reveal the bandaged stomach and to his terror, he sees crimson red stain on the white bandage.

Damn, it has started to bleed again!

Carefully he places the rake aside and walks to the door. The swift movement causes his vision to swim so abruptly. Swaying from where he is standing, he fumbles for the wall so that he can support his weakening body.

At the very same time he feels his strength waning but he has yet found support. His knees give out and he collapses on the cold stone floor. He tries to focus on anything, or to at least call out for help but he fails to. His blue eyes roll back into his head and he knows no more.

/break/

The smoothness of the feast for Guinevere's birthday celebration swallows Arthur's frustation for Merlin's absence to help him dress for the banquet. Even now, that useless of a manservant is nowhere to be found.

He must have been sleeping, that lazy idiot.

The hall is full with hustle and bustle with voices of nobles and all Camelot knights. So no one notices when a guard enters the hall quietly and walks to Gaius to whisper something to him. He notices that and eyes them for a while, not missing Gaius' face changes upon hearing to the guard. The old court physician stands and slowly moves towards his table, along with his wife and The Knights of The Round Table.

" I'm sorry, Sire for I must take my leave. The guard over there got a report that a corpse was found and requires my presence at once."

The words surprise both the king and queen as well as the knights. " A corpse? Where?" Leon asks, his face mirroring guilt and horror.

Arthur notices the knight unusual behaviour but chooses not to say anything. He too wants to know the details.

Gaius does notice it too, but he answers nonetheless. " The stable, sire."

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Author's Note : Hey guys! So I am still alive, but there are quite many things to deal with lately, what with my grandma being ill, driving test, enrolment to university in four days for foundation studies in english ( yay!) and whatnot. So I totally apologise and honestly, I would kneel at your feet for forgiveness, but it s not in my culture, so I couldn't. The fasting month has just started four days ago in Malaysia, and the weather is not helping with the idea, but I am trying my best to update. Still, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed my story, you guys rock! Love you guys!

Now get on with the new chapter!

Disclaimer : I don't own Merlin.

Previously...

" A corpse? Where?" Leon asks, his face mirroring guilt and horror.

Arthur notices the knight unusual behaviour but chooses not to say anything. He too wants to know the details.

Gaius does notice it too, but he answers nonetheless. " The stable, sire."

What colour left on Leon's face fades away upon hearing the answer.

The old physician looks behind Arthur. " Sire, where's Merlin? I could use some of his help in this matter."

The king sips the wine from his goblet before answering, " I don't know. He didn't come to my chamber this evening. Bet he's lazing around in his room, then."

Frowning in worry, Gaius replies, " He hasn't returned, sire. I have not seen him since your party returned from the hunting trip."

The guard who talked to him just now approaches and whispers something. Gaius nods in understanding before bowing to both the King and Queen. " I must take my leave. I will report to you the details later."

Arthur nods, and smiles. " Please do." He watches as Gaius strides past the crowds towards the door. Something is tugging inside his head, begging him to notice- but what?- and he tries his best to dwell on what is interrupting his mind.

He is pulled out of his reverie by the soft sound of chair scraping on the floor. Next to him, Leon has already stood up. His facial expression shows worry and guilt as he addresses the royal couple.

" I too, need to leave at once, Sire, Milady. I apologise for the suddenness. I have to find Merlin."

Arthur raises his eyebrow." And why so?"

" I have a reason to believe that I know who was found at the stable though I am inclined to hope that he is still alive." Without another word, Leon bows and storms off.

Arthur and Guinevere share a questioning look, before shifting their focus towards the delicious roasted meat on the huge platter.

Arthur's thought, however, is elsewhere.

He is trying to put all the details in one piece.

Gaius hasn't seen Merlin.

Leon suddenly finds it is his responsibility to check on Merlin.

A body of a man was found at the stable.

Leon said he may have known whose body it was at the stable.

Wait, the stable...?

I sent Merlin to muck out the stable.

Merlin.

Merlin!

He then looks over to his wife, who is chatting with Lady Adrena, one of the noblewomen present.

" Guinevere."

She turns with a smile. " Hmm?"

" I have an errand to run for a while. Are you alright with that?" He asks.

Guinevere places her hand on her husband's, and whispers, " Go. Just make sure you return before the event closes." Arthur kisses Gwen's cheek, and stands up very quietly so as not to draw anyone's attention that their king is leaving the banquet.

Silently he heads for the stable.

Silently he prays that Leon is wrong.

/break/

Halfway towards the stable, they meet with the still- shaken stable boy. Gaius remembers his name as Simon and asks, " Simon, isn't it? Tell me what happened."

Simon nods and starts telling his story. " I went to the stable to make sure the door is locked before returning home. So I didn't bring any torch as I was just about to finish my task. The door was ajar, so I pulled it to shut it and that was when I noticed that something on the floor was blocking the door. I thought that maybe it was just a bucket used by another stable worker." Here he pauses.

Gaius looks at him for a while.

" When I bent down to remove it, my hand brushed against something that I could make out as human fingers. I immediately told the guard and he brought you here."

The old physician walks as fast as his aged feet can bring him to keep up with the two young men. " How do you know that he is indeed dead?"

Almost hesitating, Simon answers, " His fingers were very cold and he didn't move even a bit so I... assumed that he is no longer alive."

Upon hearing this, Gaius quickens his steps. If Simon did not check his pulse, then there is a possibility that the man is still alive, perhaps a bit ill due to the chill in the air. His worry is no longer as they arrive at the stable. The boy guides Gaius and the guard to the door and kneels down to show them the dead man's body lying on the floor.

Or at least that is what he thought.

The guard steps forward to provide some light for Gaius from the torch he is holding- to check the man's condition- and from the corner of his eyes he can see the old man's face pale.

Wait, I know this man.

" Gaius, isn't this...?"

Gaius kneels- almost shoving Simon out of the way- beside the unconscious man. " Merlin?"

God, he's so cold.

He quickly remembers to check for a pulse and places two fingers at Merlin's neck.

There's the pulse.

Slow, faint, weak, but yes, it is there.

" He's alive! Simon, can you run to my chamber and bring down a stretcher here?"

The young blonde stable boy nods and bolts towards the court physician's chamber.

Gaius turns his attention towards his ward again.

What have you gotten yourself into now, son?

He probes at the young man's chest to check if there is any injuries that caused him to collapse at this kind of place. Noticing something underneath the shirt, he lifts it a bit, only to reveal a bloodied bandage around his stomach.

What happened...?

Someone's gasp behind him causes him to turn around and finds that Simon has returned with the stretcher and and Sir Leon standing next to him.

Gaius stands up, giving some room for Leon and the guard to transfer the cold, motionless boy onto the stretcher and lift it. Worry creeps into his mind as the boy hardly stirs as he is being moved.

" Bring him to my chamber, quick. Simon, will you please tell the king and queen to go there but remember not to breathe any of this to anyone. Only the king, queen and the knights of the round table."

Leon and the young guard have already left to Gaius' chamber by the time.

The boy turns to leave, having understood the message, but stops at the sight of the king approaching them. He bows. " Sire."

" Gaius, where is the corpse? Who is he?"

Arthur doesn't miss the look Gaius gives him.

He decided that he doesn't like the expression.

Because it means something has happened. And he will not like it.

Of that he is sure of.

" Gaius?"

The old physician tilts his head a bit, signalling for the young monarch to come with him to his chamber.

" The man lives, Sire. But I don't know for how much longer."

Arthur nods. Still he needs the answer for his other question. " Who is the man, Gaius?"

The old man halts, and looks him in the eye, before answering.

" Merlin."

/break/

Gaius fastens the bandage dressing around his ward's abdomen. Sighing, he takes a seat next to the patient cot.

Arthur eyes the man lying unconscious on the bed. The wound proved to be almost a day old. Meaning that he is already injured before they returned to Camelot. The knights standing in the room also have the puzzled expression on their faces.

" Gaius, what happened to him?"

Gaius shrugs, and replies. " I was hoping you could tell me."

The king runs his hand in his hair, looking totally distraught. " We didn't know! If something had happened during the hunting trip, we would definitely know if he is injured, but there isn't any attack from bandits or mercenaries or whatnot."

Leon hangs his head low, trying to conceal the guilt in his face. This is my fault.

If only I didn't trust Merlin when he said he would be alright.

If only I told Arthur and everyone about the attack.

He lifts his face and looks at Gaius. " Will he be alright?"

" So far the infection hasn't set in. The person who did the dressing before did a great job. The bleeding has stopped. He collapsed just because of the strain he has been putting on the wound from riding and it causes the wound to bleed again. But not too much. If there is nothing wrong, he will wake up tomorrow."

All of them heave a sigh of relief at the statement.

Arthur nods and ushers everyone out of the room. " Alright, let Merlin have his rest tonight and should he wake up tomorrow, we can ask him what had happened to him. Gaius, I wish to stay with him tonight but I need to see Guinevere for a while. I'll be right back."

Before Gaius can even states his disapproval, Arthur leaves the room and that is when Gaius knows that he cannot deny what Arthur wants.

" Merlin, who did this to you? You need to wake up, and tell us."

He studies the pale face of his surrogate son. Although some colour has returned to his cheek, he still look alarmingly ill and still. Well, he had been run through by his attacker and it is considered a miracle that he is still alive by now. He just hopes that thing will not turn for the worst later.

/break/

His whole body aches like he has been trampled by horses and a spot on his abdomen and back sting so much that he feels like lying down and give in to the darkness that is trying to claim him.

Fighting the darkness, he knows that he should be up. Arthur needs him. He cannot give up now.

Though his body fails him, he struggles to open his eyes that he does not even realised is shut.

Ugh... the light is blinding. He shuts his eyes once again.

"-lin?"

What is that? Is someone calling my name?

He wants to answer the person, whoever he is, but he only managed to let out a sigh.

Okay, I need to try opening my eyes once more.

He finds that the blinding light has gone, and he lets his eyes slip open. He first sees the blonde king staring at his face with worried look. Wait, worried?

Why would he be?

" Ar'ur?"

In the corner of his eyes he sees Arthur filling a goblet with water and lifts his head to help him drink.

As the cold, refreshing water touches his throat, he feels his life returning to him.

As well as the memory of what happened the day before. Damn, Arthur must have known!

Once the goblet removed, he says, " Thank you."

Arthur still has this worried look. " How are you feeling?"

" Never better."

Raising an eyebrow, the young royal asks, " You meant to say... that you, who was found at the stable last night, unconscious, due to a deep stab wound, is alright? You don't lie to me, Merlin. Tell me what happened."

Merlin's eyes widen. " I fainted at the stable?! I haven't finished my task then."

" Yes, you did. No, you haven't. But that is not my concern right now, don't try to change the topic. How did you end up with a wound that indicates that you have been run through, is what is."

" I don't remember."

Arthur gives him a look that says ' You expect me to believe that?'.

Merlin sighs. " Trust me, you don't want to know any of it."

" Try me."

Gaius suddenly opens the door to the chamber and smiles at the sight of his ward waking up and seemingly alright.

" Merlin." He approaches the cot and hugs the young servant of whom he regards as a son. " How are you feeling?"

Upon hearing the question, Merlin rolls his eyes. " I'm fine. What makes you think that I'm not?"

Both Arthur and Gaius give him an apprehensive look.

Merlin positions himself to sit, and accidentally stresses the stitches at the wound. He gasps in pain. Arthur rushes forward to help.

" Seriously, Merlin. If you are not okay, just tell us."

Merlin scoffs. " And what? You will consider what I said? Like when I told you there ARE somebody following us in the woods?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regrets it.

Arthur regards his servant for a while, before asking, " What about it?"

Merlin shakes his head. " Nothing." He looks the other way, trying and failing to avoid Arthur's scrutinising stare at him.

The young servant is eternally grateful that their conversation is interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door.

The door opens to reveal the faces of the knights. " Merlin! You're awake!" Gwaine exclaims and hurries forward to hug his first friend.

Gaius who has been watching the heated conversation cannot help but to feel curious to know what it is about Merlin telling them the insecurity he felt during the trip.

However much he demands to know the truth, he can see that Merlin is still in pain and weak after losing that much blood from the run- through wound. He looks at the table, at the small bottle of pain reliever he has prepared earlier for the boy and moves to take it.

" Alright everyone, Merlin needs to get as much rest as he can get so all of you, now, out."

Murmurs of protests can be heard from everyone but Gaius is adamant that he alone will have to talk to Merlin and find out the truth. He knows his ward and he knows if the boy refuses to give them answers, it must have something to do with his secret gift.

" Come on, everyone. Off you go." Gaius says again, with his authoritive voice.

Gwaine ruffles Merlin's raven hair and smiles. " Get well soon, mate." Elyan and Percival just pat Merlin on the shoulder before turning away and leave the small room.

Leon smiles at the servant and nods, signalling to him ' my lips are sealed.'

Merlin gives a grateful look at the knight and smiles his gratitude.

Arthur, however, leaves without another word.

The door clicks shut behind him.

Gaius takes this opportunity to sit with the young man and says, " Merlin, what actually happened?"

Fiddling with the end of the blanket covering his legs, he replies, " Gaius, I need to rest for a while, this wound is hurting so much I felt like just sleeping." He obviously does not wish to recount the incident two nights before at that time.

He doesn't lie, the wound does hurt. And it seems like a good excuse to escape telling anything to his guardian.

He takes the vial from the old man's hand, uncorks it and downs the content with just one go. The potion takes effect almost instantly, for he feels his eyes drooping and he lies down on the cot again.

Within seconds, he is asleep.

Gaius looks at Merlin with compassion and wonders if it really is a huge secret that he doesn't even wish to talk to his surrogate father.

He sighs, before adjusting the blanket to fully cover the boy's body.

Seems like he has to confront Leon after all. He notices the look the two exchanged before the knights leave the chamber.

/break/

He finds the knights at the training field later in the day with Arthur. They are taking a break for a while, each one of them either sitting at the bench or having a sip of water from their own water skin.

" Sir Leon, may I have a word with you?" Gaius asks, watching as all attention is drawn to the senior knight except for Arthur's, he is talking to a young recruit about something that cannot be heard clearly.

Leon looks up from massaging his forearm to Gaius. " Sure, what is it?"

Gaius sits at a bench before beginning to talk.

" I have a reason to believe that you know what happened to Merlin."

Now even Arthur's attention is drawn to them.

He could have sworn that he sees Leon's face change for a split second before returning to his normal expression.

" Why so, Gaius?" Leon asks. The physician does not have any hesitation to answer. " Because I am observant. Now, Leon, please just tell us what happened. I just wish to know."

Leon sighs. Sorry, Merlin.

So he tells them everything that he knows.

The story leaves their mouth agape in shock. Merlin has been injured by the men who came to take Arthur. By the men who had indeed been following them since they started their hunting trip.

Seems like Merlin is right after all.

And he chose not to ask for their help because he refuses to be a burden to them?

Stupid, selfless Merlin.

Was it really the reason? Or perhaps he didn't want to tell Arthur because the king had threaten him into not speaking about the danger he had been sensing.

Leon eyes them, before continuing his story. " I promised that I will not tell any of you only if he is fine until we get back. He is fine, until he leaves to work at the stable after returning."

This sentence is like a huge slap to Arthur's face. He is the one ordering Merlin to clean the stable. He causes Merlin's condition to deteriorate.

He should have paid more attention to see the pain Merlin has to suffer because of him.

He needs to apologise to Merlin.

/break/

The night is cold. Of course, it is. It is nearly winter by this time.

He wakes up almost shivering, but at the same time feeling hungry. He gets up slowly, trying not to put strain at the still- healing stab wound. He winces, still, when he absent- mindedly touches the bandage and recalls how close to death he was after he was being run through, only surviving because of the healing spell that he used.

His hands presses the cover of the cot, trying to stand up to get to the table and have some food.

The door abruptly opens, revealing Gaius, his face mirroring worry at the sight of his ward standing up despite the severe wound.

" What are you doing?" He asks. The boy smiles before replying, " I want to have something to eat. Hungry."

Gaius moves to help him and within seconds, they are already sitting on the chair by the table, on the table before them are two bowls of lukewarm soup.

Merlin takes the spoon in his hand and sips the soup a bit. Oh, this is so good. He eats the soup slowly, not noticing that Gaius is watching him closely.

As starving as he is, he only manages to down the soup until only half of the bowl left and he is already full. It is just then that he realised that Gaius has his eyes locked on him, as if studying him like a predator would its prey.

" What?"

Gaius looks him in the eye and asks, " Merlin, your wound should be a fatal one. But it is a miracle that you survived, without even an infection setting in, if I must add. Is there something you should tell me?"

The young servant frowns, and says, " No, I don't think so."

" Merlin, don't lie to me. I knew what happened. I force Leon to tell me everything."

Merlin shifts his gaze towards Gaius' work table for a while, suddenly finding the mess on the table much more interesting than his mentor's face.

" Fine. I... may have or may not have used a healing spell, just to stem the bleeding and close the wound, though it wasn't of much help. Healing spell has never been my strength, so the bleeding didn't stop, only slowing, enough to keep me alive until we get back. That's all." Merlin confesses.

Gaius places his hand on Merlin's, and grips it. " It's alright, son. I am not mad at you. I was just asking. You know how terrified I was when I found you at the stable the night before? I am glad that you are fine."

Merlin smiles at the kind words, grateful for the understanding.

/break/

He climbs the stairs slowly, trying to rid himself of the plummetting guilt he still has in his mind.

Once he reached the wooden door, he stops and listens to the conversation from behind it.

"-wasn't of much help. Healing spell has never been my strength, so the bleeding didn't stop, only slowing, enough to keep me alive until we get back. That's all."

What?

He vaguely takes a step back, too shocked by the words he has just heard but decides to wait and finds out more.

"-alright, son. I am not mad at you. I was just asking..."

With the revelation, he decides that he has heard enough. He turns and steps away, towards his chamber.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Author's Note : Hey guys! Thank you for staying with me and reviewing, following or favouriting this fic. You guys are really cool!! So sorry for the late update. But I am not going to waste your time reading my explanation as of why I haven't updated bla bla bla... so I guess I'll just leave you guys with the new chapter. On with the fic!

Disclaimer : I never own Merlin.

Previously...

With the revelation, he decides that he has heard enough. He turns and steps away, towards his chamber.

/break/

" Rise and shine!"

Arthur's sleep is crushed by the sudden entrance of light throughout the room, blinding him for a split second.

" Merlin!"

" Come on, get up. Surely you have a kingdom to run. I brought your breakfast, and oh, you have a training this whole morning and in the afternoon, you have a council meeting to attend. And by the way-"

" Merlin."

Merlin does not look up from picking up strewn clothes around the room.

" What?"

" Why are you here?" Arthur asks, getting up from the bed. The servant in question stares at him with a puzzled look. " Why should I not be here?"

" You are not yet healed, so what are you doing up?"

Merlin shrugs.

Arthur studies him for a while, remembering what he has heard the night before.

Merlin. Has magic.

Merlin. Betrayed me.

Suddenly he feels anger flaring up inside him. " I guess your healing spell works that well, huh?"

Merlin stops in his tracks, but he still does not turn to face Arthur.

" What are you talking about? I don't-"

Arthur grabs Merlin by the shoulder and shoves him to the wall. " Don't. Even. Think. Of lying. To me."

Merlin gasps as his head hit the wall hard he could only see stars for a few seconds. " Arthur."

" Silence, sorcerer."

Merlin clamps his mouth shut. He tries to recall talking about anything related to his magic to anyone.

As far as he remembers, there is none. Oh, wait. His mind returns to last night of when he talked to Gaius about using a healing spell.

But there is no one else there, is it?

Arthur's hand reaches to Merlin's throat and clenches it tight. " Gaius knows too, doesn't he?"

The servant's eyes widen. No no no! Gaius should not be blamed for hiding his magic.

He quickly shakes his head, saying,

" No. Don't drag him in this matter. He knows, but I threatened him to keep it hidden from anyone." He is struggling to breathe now as he feels his air supply been cut off.

Arthur glares at him for a while before slamming his head towards the hard wall once again. Within seconds the young servant is out cold.

" Guards!"

/break/

Gwaine bursts into Gaius' chamber, bringing the news that had left him shocked.

" Gaius!"

The old man does not turn from his work table as he recognises the voice. " Ah, Sir Gwaine. What can I do for you?"

" Merlin has been sent to the dungeon!"

Gaius looks up from mixing the herbs and into the knight's eyes. " Excuse me? Why would he be?"

He places everything onto the table and proceeds to follow Gwaine to see Arthur in the royal chamber.

Gwaine shrugs, " He claims that Merlin had admitted of being a sorcerer. That is so ridiculous. I mean, he's Merlin. He can't be an evil sorce-" He turns when he finds that Gaius has stopped.

He could have sworn that the old physician's has lost all its colour.

" What's the matter?"

When Gaius does not answer, Gwaine steps back towards him. " Gaius?"

The old man snaps back into reality and shakes his head. " Nothing."

They stride fast to see the king. To make him see sense.

The door to the royal chamber is open and they can see Arthur and Guinevere arguing.

" You don't even have a proof! Don't talk like he has ever harmed you with it even if it is true!" Gwen's voice is full of anger and disappoinment.

Arthur glances towards the door when he realises that there are somebody at the door. " Here you are, Gaius. Come, tell them all that you know about his magic. Don't worry, no harm will ever come in your way. He is locked up in the deepest dungeon and he can't harm you anymore."

Gaius frowns, not quite understanding what is going on.

" Sire?"

" He's been threatening you, hasn't he, Gaius? To hide from everyone about his magic?"

That is when the physician manages to put two and two together. Merlin. Why have you done this, son?

He wants so bad to tell Arthur that Merlin lied but he doesn't want his ward's sacrifice to go in vain. He just nods, trying to look convincing to the three individual in front of him.

He takes a deep breath. " He said that he will tell you that I am the sorcerer and that I used magic to cure my patients. I am sorry, sire. After all that happened with Aredian, I doubt that anyone will ever trust me about not using magic."

Gwen helps him to a seat and hugs him. " Oh, Gaius. Is it true then? About Merlin?"

Gaius nods. Maybe the time of truth has come after all. " What are you going to do to him, Sire?"

He looks at Gwaine and notices that the rogue knight has the same expression as Gwen's.

Shocked. Betrayed.

Arthur sits on a chair opposite to his wife and physician. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

" Honestly, I don't know."

/break/

Merlin wakes with a start. He blinks a few times, vaguely realising that he is not in his room. Looking around, he suddenly remembers what has happened and tries to get up from lying on the cold, hard stone bench in his cell.

It is terrifyingly dark in here and he can tell that he is placed in the most secluded cell amongst all other cells in the dungeon.

His head is throbbing, so he put his hand at the back of his head. He almost laughs when he feels a bump at the spot where Arthur had slammed his head against the wall. What a weakling he is.

He leans against the wall, wondering what is currently happening outside. Perhaps Arthur told everyone about him.

Perhaps Gwaine is arguing with Arthur because he refuses to believe the accusations.

Perhaps Gwen is crying because he has lied to them. Betrayed them.

Perhaps Gaius has just been told about this. He hopes that Gaius will not foolishly hands himself over to Arthur to cover for him.

He prays that Gaius will play along in his lies. After all these years, he has seen Gaius as a father that he is willing to sacrifice everything for the old man.

The last thing that he wants right now is to have Gaius sent to prison and burnt on the pyre just for protecting his secret.

The pyre.

He wonders if Arthur has already prepared the pyre to have him burnt on it. The thought makes him shudder. He prefers the chopping block rather than the stake. At least his death will be quick and less painful.

He moves a bit, to make himself a little comfortable with his position on the bench and hisses when the stab wound from before feels like it is burning. He pulls his shirt to take a peek at the bandage covering his torso and heaves a sigh of relief to discover that it still looks the way it has been this morning.

" Never mind that, even if I developed an infection, I am going to die anyway." He mutters to himself.

He smiles. So this is how Arthur would react when he learns about my magic, he thought. I should have figured as much. It will be too much for me to hope that he will understand my situation.

Well, how can he be? Arthur has been taught to despise magic and everything related to it ever since he could remember.

So with the thought in his head, he drifts off to sleep, mentally counting days until his execution.

/break/

Driant walks along the path that leads him to the deepest area of the dungeon. He balances the tray of food and drink in one hand and a torch in another hand as he walks silently.

He is thinking about the prisoner. He is so young so he does not feel intimidated by the fact though everyone warned him to be careful being around the young prisoner. Hell, he doesn't even know what the prisoner is being convicted with.

Stopping in front of the iron railings of the cell, he can make out the sleeping form of the boy. He doesn't look at the least bit dangerous. In fact, he looks like someone who is kind and easy to get along.

Driant watches as the young prisoner stirs and wakes before slowly getting up. " Hello. I'm Merlin." He says with a smile. Driant can't help but to feel warmed with the smile and returns the smile.

He places the tray on the floor to reach for a key on his belt and unlock the door. " I brought your dinner." He takes the tray on the floor and steps forward to hand it to Merlin. " I am Driant, by the way."

Merlin, who is sipping the drink from the cup, looks up and smiles. " Hello, Driant. Are you new?"

Driant nods. " Well, I have to go now. See you later, Merlin." With that, he leaves after locking the cell again.

Seriously, dangerous? Has everyone been fooling me? Merlin is definitely nice. There is no doubt that everyone just fails to see that.

/break/

Leon sits with Gwaine, Elyan and Percival at the training ground, waiting for the king to arrive. He says " I still can't believe I just helped saving a sorcerer's life."

Gwaine shoots him a murderous glare and rebuts, " How can you say that? His life is worth saving. Everyone's lives are. He is our friend. What happened to our friendship?"

" It ended when he lied to us. About his magic. He betrayed us. How can you still see him as a friend?" Arthur's voice interrupts their conversation.

Leon, Percival and Elyan choose to keep quiet and listen. Gwaine stands up to face the king. " He must have had his own reason as to why he hide it from us. You just have to ask him, not put him in the dungeon just like that!"

" Anyone practicing magic is dangerous and evil. I cannot risk my kingdom for the sake of one man. If I get rid of him, then I can save the whole kingdom from the evil that is sorcery." Arthur lifts his face to make himself look a bit stricter and intimidating. However in this case, he just knows that he fails to in front of Gwaine.

The knight lunges at Arthur and tackles him to the ground. Both fall onto the grassy training field with a loud thud, drawing attention from the other three knights.

They quickly pulls Gwaine away from the king. Gwaine struggles to get away and as he manages to do so, he shouts at Arthur.

" You are stupid! You all are. Merlin has sacrificed so much for us in the past, hell, he even throw himself in front of the Dorocha just to save your life! Can you not see that he has done nothing but serve and protect you? He could have killed you with a flick of his finger, but have you ever been harmed? No! He is loyal to a fault that it even costs his life. He is wrong. He is wrong to trust you. He is wrong when he says that your life is worth dying for. I just hope you get to see the consequence of doing this to him." With that, he turns and walks towards the castle.

Everyone is so stunned by the outburst that they fail to move for a minute.

They look at each other and struggle to find a word to say. They fail to do so.

After a few more moments of silence, Arthur picks up his sword.

" Today's training session is cancelled."

Without turning back, he makes his way towards his chamber.

/break/

Guinevere watches as the knights try to pull Gwaine away from Arthur. She knows exactly what the fight is about. She can't help but to feel thankful towards Gwaine for expressing his anger to Arthur and everyone about the injustice in deciding Merlin's fate.

Merlin deserves a fair trial, yet that is exactly what he will not get. Gwen wonders if it will be different if Merlin is just a someone else- not their friend- committing crimes of treason.

Is it because of the magic?

Or the broken friendship itself?

The sound of the door swinging open pulls her away from her reverie. She turns her head to see Arthur before looking out the window again. " I see that you guys have a fight just now."

" It was nothing." Arthur sits on the bed, rubbing his bruised arm as a result of being pushed to the ground by Gwaine not ten minutes ago.

The queen steps towards her husband to take a look at the bruises.

" Arthur, are you ever going to consider holding a fair trial for Merlin? He deserves it. He owes us all an explanation. Since when did he start practicing magic, and why. Don't you ever wonder about that, Arthur?"

The young monarch shuts his eyes. Not this again. " There is nothing more to say. He had admitted to practicing sorcery himself. I don't see why he even needs a trial. His fate is sealed when he confessed to me. God, I thought I know him. How can we be so blind to see the betrayal? I thought he's my friend. And as far as I know, friends don't hide secrets from each other. Friends don't lie to each other."

Smiling, Gwen takes a seat next to Arthur on the bed. " So it is never about the magic."

" What do you mean?"

Gwen looks Arthur in the eyes and voices her opinion.

" You don't really mind about him having magic. What makes you angry is why he never once has the decency to tell you about his magic. You trust him with everything, and I know that you hope the trust is mutual. When you told me about the magic, the first thing that ever came across my mind is I am one of his first friends here, but did he not trust me enough to his magic?"

She takes a deep breath before continuing, " But then I realised. This is Camelot. The place where you will be killed on sight at the mere knowledge of sorcery. He wants to protect us. He doesn't want to burden us to keep his secret for him. Our lives is very dear to him. An execution for treason because of him, is hardly a way to repay a friend and he doesn't want to see the day when it happened."

" I am not my father. I would not execute someone for something as simple as that." Arthur buries his face in his palms. What his wife is telling her is true though he would rather be killed than to admit it. He doesn't care about the magic, just the fact that Merlin does not put that much trust on him.

" Then prove it, prove that you are far better than that." Gwen says before leaving the room.

/break/

It has been three days and Driant is enjoying his job. That everyone seems to be avoiding.

Which is securing and sending food to Merlin.

Merlin is a great friend. He always cheers Driant up even though his own life is on the line right now.

Driant looks forward to have a chat with Merlin again today. The previous day they had talked about jobs around the castle and had laughed themselves to the point that their jaws ached from laughing too much.

He stands outside the cell and notices that the boy is lying on his back on the stone bench, sleeping. His right arm is dangling from the bench, his fingertips almost touching the floor.

As much as he wished to talk to Merlin, he does not have the heart to wake him up as Merlin once told him that he rarely gets to sleep at night due to the chilly winter wind. Now that he gets to sleep, Driant wants him to have as much rest as he can. He places the tray on the floor near to the bench.

With a last glance at the prisoner whom he already regards as a little brother he never has, he swings the door to the cell shut and locks it.

/break/

Gwen knocks the door. She waits for permission before pushing the door open. " Gaius."

Said old man raises his head and smiles. " My lady. What can I do for you?"

Sitting on the wooden bench next to Gaius, she says, " I will do better if you stop calling me 'My lady'." Upon hearing this, Gaius chuckles.

" Alright, Gwen."

" Actually, I came to talk to you about Merlin." The queen watches as Gaius' face morphes into sadness before appearing to be normal again.

" What is there to talk about?" He asks. " Merlin is going to be executed for something he didn't have a choice over. Basically he committed treason to Camelot by just being born and-"

At that point, Gwen cuts his speech.

" What do you mean, he didn't have a choice?"

Gaius sighs. " He was born with it, Gwen. He could use his magic even before he could talk. I remember him when he first asked me why he is so different from other people. Why he has his gifts. Even thinking that he is a monster. Now tell me, dear, how can you be punished over something that you cannot change?"

The beautiful woman sits in stunned silence. She hasn't expected that when she decided to see Gaius. And one more thing...

" He didn't threatened you into hiding his secret, did he, Gaius?"

Gaius shakes his head. " No. He didn't want anyone to know about his magic, not even me. Merlin saved my life at the very moment he stepped foot in this chamber and exactly after he had just witnessed the execution of a sorcerer. I am indebted to him so I didn't have the heart to turn him in to Uther. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. We all wouldn't be here if he didn't do all that he did."

" Then why would he tell Arthur that he forced you to keep his magic secret?"

Gaius places his hand on Gwen's, and answers, " You know how he is. With all his selflessness, he'd rather die than watch others suffer because of him. I was the one who told him to keep his power a secret for I fear what would become of him if he ever is found out. But that has never stopped him from doing all that he can to protect a kingdom that condemns his kind."

The former maidservant looks Gaius into the eyes. " Please, tell me all that he has done. I promise I won't tell Arthur any of our talk today."

" You sure you want to know all of them? It is a long story." The court physician leans against the table.

Gwen nods. " I have all day."

/break/

Gwen shuts the door to the chamber that she shares with Arthur slowly. Turning, she finds that Arthur is sitting at his work table, reading all the letters and paperworks as he needs to attend council meeting on the next day.

She can see that Arthur is having trouble sorting the piles of papers on the table and it doesn't take a genius to tell why.

All this time the papers would be sorted by Merlin according to the urgency and sometimes Arthur will not have to read all the documents as Merlin always helps with the job and if Arthur needs to sign anything, Merlin just assemble said documents in a stack. Then without having to read Arthur can just sign them.

Now that Merlin is not here, the young king is having trouble with everything on the table. What made it worse is that his newly appointed manservant is illiterate, though he is

far more competent than Merlin used to be.

The queen chuckles, before walking towards her husband and begins arranging the scattered papers.

" Guinevere, what are you doing?" He asks. She shrugs. " I see you are having trouble with all these. I just wished to help."

He stares at his wife, who is not looking at him as she is busy reading the papers in order to sort them.

" Guinevere."

She looks at him for a second before turning her focus towards the piles of documents. " Hmm?"

" I... have decided."

This earns him a raised eyebrow from the woman. " What about?"

" Merlin."

Her face changes into worry. She tries to calm herself down. " I'm listening."

" I think I am ready to hear his explanation. His trial will be held the day after tomorrow. Is it alright with you? What do you say?"

Smiling, she hugs Arthur and repeats her thank you over and over. " Oh, I am really alright with that! You don't know how much it means to me!" She then kisses Arthur's cheek.

" I think it is for the everyone's benefit. I need to hear his side of the story so that when I make my judgement, it is based solely on the trial, not on any personal reason."

Gwen nods. She just hopes Merlin will tell the truth. About everything that she has learnt from Gaius.

About how much he has done to keep Camelot safe.

About how much he has lost; his lover, his father, all for the sake of Camelot.

About how much he has sacrificed for his friends. The ones he held dear in his heart.

" Thank you, Arthur. For not being a cold-hearted king. For accepting my opinion. For giving Merlin a chance." Gwen mutters, barely audible to Arthur.

/break/

The metal door swings open, revealing the skinny figure on the cold stone bench. Merlin is still sleeping. Driant walks slowly, avoiding anything that can make a sound so as to not wake the young man from his sleep. He crouches down to put the tray of bread and cheese on the floor.

He turns to leave, but as he did his right foot accidently bangs on something on the floor. Turning to make sure Merlin has not awoken by the sound, his eyes scan the dirty floor to see what is that thing that he has almost stepped on.

He strains his eyes to see the object as he has left his torch outside the cell so the light focuses on the area that is nearer to the hallway.

Then he recognises the flat, metal object. The tray of food that he had left for Merlin on the previous day. The bread and cheese haven't been touched.

Driant shifts his gaze at Merlin and feels something tugging inside of him. Like something he should have noticed.

" Merlin?"

No answer.

The new guard falls to his knees and shakes the frail body of the former manservant of the king. " Merlin?"

He just notices that the boy's position is just as similar as he is in yesterday. Getting up as quickly as he could, he reaches for the torch outside and stands by the bench to take a good look at Merlin.

It is just then that he really sees.

" Merlin?!"

He sways a bit, before regaining his composure and without even bothering to lock the door, he dashes out.

/break/

Gwaine, Percival and Elyan are walking towards the training ground when they heard someone calling Gwaine's name.

" Sir Gwaine!"

Said knight stops in his tracks and turns, only to find a young man dressed in the palace's guards attire running towards them.

" Yes, what is it?"

" The prisoner... Merlin... " The guard is trying to catch his breath while at the same time trying to convey his message.

Upon hearing this, Gwaine's eyebrows shot up. " What about him? How do you know him?"

The guard looks at Gwaine in the face. He doesn't have to say anything as his facial expression has told Gwaine everything he needs to know.

Gwaine springs into action. "Percival, you know what to do. Elyan, go and tell Arthur about this. You," He says, turning to the still- shaken guard.

" Lead the way."

Without another word, all of them moves as swift as their feet could bring.

To be continued...

p/s : I just need some help to understand the jargons related to fanfiction such as slash, whump, bamf and many other. I have to admit that I didn't even know what the ratings for the fanfics mean. Can somebody help me with that? I really appreciated it if you can just contact me with whatsapp. Just go to my profile to get the flow to get my phone number. Thanks in advance.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N: Hey, guys! I am terribly sorry for not updating for a long time. No, I have not abandoned this story, I was just soooo busy with projects for assignment and final exam and whatnot. Again, I deeply apologise for disappearing this few months and I this chapter makes up for it. I thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed this story. I love you guys so much:)

Now on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Previously…

"Lead the way."

Without another word, all of them move as swift as their feet could bring.

/break/

The sound of knocking on the door to the royal chamber startle both the monarchs. Huffing in annoyance, Arthur manages to answer. "Enter."

The door swings open, revealing a much haggard-looking Elyan. "Sire, there is an emergency in the dungeon. Mer- the prisoner…" he trails off, unable to find the best word to explain the situation due to the not-much information that he has.

The king exchanges look with the queen who just comes out from behind the changing screen. "Why? What happened? Did he escape?"

Elyan shrugs, before continuing , "I am afraid I do not have any information on that, just that your presence is needed in Gaius' chamber. I think Gwaine is bringing him there. But I don't think he did. Anyway, they are calling Gaius along."

Arthur's heart skips a beat. Why would they need Gaius? Unless..

Both the royal couple rush towards the destination, Elyan following closely behind them.

/break/

Upon reaching the dungeon, Gwaine asks to Driant, " Do you have the key?" Driant shakes his head, "I left the door open just now."

"Good."

"Which one?" he asks again. The young guard points his finger towards the last cell. "Here."

He grabs a torch and moves aside to allow Gwaine in. The sound of Gwaine's boots against the floor is the only sound they can hear. Gwaine halts, and sharpens his hearing.

No breathing?

He crouches by the bench and risks a look at his friend. Oh, God. What in the world happened?

The young man's face is ashen, like death warmed over. His nose and ear are bleeding- or used to, for the blood has dried- and he is alarmingly still.

"Merlin?" he is hoping against hope that he will be answered. But there is no answer. Gwaine then gently presses two fingers at his friend's neck, begging to whoever is listening that the pulse is still there. Come on, Merlin….

Then he feels it. Weak, but there nonetheless. He lets out the breath that he has not even realised he has been holding since he fails to hear Merlin breathing. Looking around, he can see that the guard has not moved from where he is standing. He scoops up Merlin's frail body into his arms and stands. "Move aside. I need to bring him to Gaius."

"But the king…" before he manages to finish his sentence, Gwaine cuts him short, "You want him dead then?"

Driant shakes his head. "Let's go." he moves aside to allow Gwaine exiting before shutting the door and locking it.

/break/

He does not know what to expect when without warning, Percival bursts into his chamber, trying to tell him that something happened to Merlin and that he needs to be prepared before Gwaine arrives with Merlin.

Gaius gathers some vials and puts it on his work table. "What happened, Sir Percival? I need to know what the situation is so that I can be prepared to treat my patient." Gaius asks Percival for the umpteenth time. Percival shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Gaius, but I myself do not know what had exactly happened."

Suddenly scared and worried for his ward, Gaius sits at the chair. What if the wound has become infected? What if it is too late?

Just as Gaius begins to think of any worst case scenario that might have happened, the door is slammed open, and Driant comes in followed by Gwaine. Upon seeing Merlin limp in Gwaine's arm, Gaius puts on his mask of physician and schools his expression.

"Quick, put him on the cot!" and the usually-stubborn knight obeys, his face mirroring fear. And Gaius knows what kind of fear he is seeing on Gwaine's face, it is the fear of losing someone important.

"What can I do to help?"

Gaius does not want to deny the knight's need to help his friend but is worried that the others will only become a hindrance. "Alright, Gwaine. Can you help me take off his shirt? But the rest of you, out." As he begins to undress Merlin, he does not hear the door clicking shut behind him.

Gwaine gently slips Merlin's arm from the tunic and when he is done, he tucks the shirt on a chair. "Done. what do I do next?"

Gaius leans closer to his unconscious ward, tapping his cheek lightly. "Merlin?" he looks around and says to Gwaine, who looks more than ready to help. "Can you bring the bucket of water here?"

Gwaine turns towards the direction Gaius is pointing, and rushes to get it. "And that white cloth on the table as well, yes that one." he dips the cloth into the cold water and wrings it, before dabbing on his ward's forehead.

To their greatest relief, Merlin's brows twitch, and he lets out a soft whimper. "Merlin? Can you hear me?" The young man's eyes flickers, and soon he opens his eyes.

His eyes, however, are bleary and unfocused. He opens his mouth to say something, but it comes out as a croak. wheezing, he tries to suck in a lungful of air, but his next attempts to breathe only makes his breathing ragged.

Gaius notices the signs, and quickly instructs Gwaine to turn Merlin onto his side. It is then that Merlin begins convulsing, his limbs twitching and eyes rolling back into his head. Gwaine makes to hold Merlin still, but Gaius stops him.

"Don't. If we try to hold him, there is a risk that we might dislocate his shoulder." so watch they do.

After what feels like hours, the convulsing stops. Both of them rushes towards Merlin, who seems to be drifting to unconsciousness.

Gaius slowly shakes his ward's shoulder. "Merlin? Can you hear me?" he looks at Merlin's face and tries to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall upon seeing the evident pain the man of whom he regards as a son is in.

The young servant's eyes dart back and forth, not really seeing. He blinks, that is a relief, but the blinking are slow. His fingers curls and Gaius signals to Gwaine, who is staring at Merlin intently, to slowly loosen them.

Merlin's lips are slightly parted, bobbing as though he has something to say.

"Merlin?"

The only response he he gets is a blink. The old physician places his fingers onto Merlin's palm. "My boy, listen. I am going to ask you some questions. You just have to squeeze once if the answer is yes. And twice for no. You understand?"

One squeeze.

"Good. does it hurt anywhere ?"

One squeeze.

As Merlin's eyes begin to droop, Gaius gently squeezes his ward's hand. "Merlin, can you stay awake for a while?"

Gaius waits for the answer quite longer than before, but then Merlin squeezes his hand. "Thank you, Merlin." he is just about to turn to Gwaine and ask him to continue soak Merlin's flushed face with the white cloth as he is doing before Merlin's..well, before the seizure when he hears coughing from Merlin.

"Gaius!" Gwaine's voice alerts him from his train of thought. He looks towards the occupant of the bed once again, and cringes in dismay when he spots thin rivulet of blood oozing from Merlin's pale, chapped lips. What happened to Merlin to make him look like this??

Then it suddenly dawns on him. Unless…

"Merlin, open your eyes, mate!" Gwaine sounds desperate and he taps the pale cheek of the young servant. "Merlin!"

Merlin has succumbed to the darkness.

/break/

He feels like his body is being burnt, or rather, boiled. Like the fire is travelling towards his chest, attempting (and likely succeeding) to destroy his heart and lungs. Trying to suck in a lungful of air, he vaguely realises that he is longer lying on a cold, cemented floor of the dungeon. Instead he feels like he is lying on a soft and warm surface.

He keeps wondering where the buzzing in his ears come from, and why his eyes feel like something heavy is being put on them, as if preventing him from opening them for good.

The darkness tries to pull him back, and he finds that he does not be awake after all. Awake means having to endure all this pain, which he is not entirely sure if he can. The darkness is not really unpleasant. So he lets himself be blanketed by the the comforting darkness and the numbing pain.

/break/

The sound of the door opening startle both Gaius and Gwaine from their attention to Merlin lying unconscious on the bed. Gwaine's eyes flash with fury and he stands to push the intruder away from the bed.

"Are you happy now?" he asks the oblivious king. Arthur frowns with confusion and he peers behind Gwaine's shoulder to look at the sorcerer. "What do you mean? Is he alright?"

Gwaine wants to kill this man, who dares to ask about Merlin when he is the one causing this to happen. Standing in front of Arthur, he jabs a finger at Arthur's chest. "You don't have the right to ask about him, since the moment you sent him to the dungeon! He's a traitor? You want him dead? Well good news to you then, he is dying now! So Sire, do me a favour and lea-"

He has not even managed to finish because he is pushed aside by the king who moves to stand by the patient cot.

"Gaius? What's wrong with Merlin? Is he alright?"

Gwaine turns to look at them and swallows. He stares at Gaius, hoping that everything that he is told just now is not true. But the remorse in Gaius' eyes tells him otherwise. They tell him that they are the truth. He collapses on a chair and barely listens as Gaius speaks.

"He was poisoned, Sire. From my examination, the poison was administered by the blade that had wounded him a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, the cure for this poison is known to no one. I can do some reading, but I fear Merlin doesn't have as much time as I do." Gwaine silently wonders if he is the only one, but he hears sorrow and resignation in the old physician's voice.

He shakes his head in denial, looking up to see Arthur kneeling beside the bed, his hand stroking Merlin's tousled hair tenderly with a shaking hand. Gwaine's frown ceases. Maybe Arthur still cares after all. He doesn't realise that Guinevere and Elyan are standing at the threshold, listening and watching the scene in front of them. So practically jumps when the queen steps inside, her face smeared with tear streaks that she hasn't bothered to cover.

"How much longer does he have, Gaius? Before.. He.."

He flinches visibly upon hearing the question. That is the one question that he so wishes to ask and an answer he desperately wishes to know, but refuses to let out. Because voicing it out loud means that he acknowledges the fact that his first friend is dying and he cannot do anything to prevent it. Because knowing the answer will force him to be prepared for the day of when he is losing his friend. Because knowing them is making them a reality.

He wants Merlin to be alright. Merlin has to be alright. He refuses to accept otherwise.

So when Gaius answers the question, he squeezes his eyes shut, trying very hard not to listen to it, but he hears the answer nonetheless.

"Five days at most."

/break/

He slowly becomes aware of the hand clutching his. It is warm, and strong. His curiosity to know to whom the hand belongs to piques and he struggles against the confines of the darkness and pushes his way through towards the light.

"-says that the person can still wake but the body will weaken every time he drifts to unconsciousness again. Gaius, can this book be trusted?"

Who is that? Merlin tries to move his hand but only manages a twitch of his index finger.

"-that book since I was younger than you are now. Of course it's reliable. It's-"

Merlin forces his eyes open, and had he the strength to jump as he succeeds, he would have jumped in delight. But he feels so drained now, so jumping is out of the question, however delightful he is to have opened his eyes. So he settles with a weak gasp.

The hand clutching his just now suddenly let go of his hand and he finds himself missing the firm hold already, as if the owner is helping him to hold onto life. He feels the hand now resting on his head, brushing away strands of hair on his forehead, and vaguely recognises it as Gwaine's.

"It's true then!"

Merlin furrows his eyebrows in confusion. What? What's true? He blinks, trying to clear the blur in his vision and meets with the sight of Gaius and Gwaine hovering over him. "Merlin!" their voices sound so loud in his ears.

"Uh.. hi? What happened?" his question is no more than a whisper, and Gaius quickly pours some water into a cup and feeds him some. "You don't remember what happened?"

Merlin may have drunk too fast, or too much, for he splutters and coughs a few times before speaking. "Help me up, please, Gwaine?" he holds out his hand to grasp the knight's arm while his other arm pushes against the mattress. Gaius places a few pillows behind him while Gwaine supports and leans him against the mount of pillows.

Cough. "Thanks." he can feel Gwaine flashing his signature smile at him. "No problem, mate." though there is a hint of sadness in the smile. "I remember..the pain in my stomach, though there is no infection. Gaius, tell me..how much longer do I have?"

They look at each other with pained expression. The room is silent, save for Merlin's slow intake of breath. His calmness seems to surprise both Gwaine and Gaius. Why should they be? "Gwaine? Gaius?"

Gaius rests his hand on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin can make out shiver in his voice, though his guardian does a good job masking it when he speaks next. "Merlin, you have plenty of time. Why do you ask that? You sound as if you are dyi-"

But Merlin is having none of it. "Because I am, Gaius! I know. I could feel the poison spreading inside me, even right now. Please, Gaius. I need to know." he buries his face in his palm, suddenly feeling like a little child again, desiring for his mother's hug to console him.

And then he is enveloped in tight, but warm embrace. "You are not going to die, mate. We are going to find a cure for you, and you are definitely going to be alright." he feels Gwaine's hand rubbing his back in a soothing manner, and finally leans into the hug. Resting his head on the knight's shoulder, he takes in the scent of freshly washed tunic, wondering why there isn't any smell of ale or mead. But he dismisses the thoughts away. "But I thought it would be better if I died this way, rather than on pyre. I don't want to burn. Gwaine, just let me die like this. It's better for all of us. Please.."

Gwaine is totally at loss for words, he inclines his head to look up to Gaius, the old man's eyes are brimmed with tears. It is quite a while before Merlin speaks again. "I don't have a full week, do I."it is more of a statement than a question. His voice is muffled since he buries his face into Gwaine's shoulder. Merlin winces when he realises that he looks like a weak person, but decides not to care much. He feels like he needs this hug...so...bad..ly…

"Merlin?!" Gwaine is beyond panicked to feel Merlin sagging in his arms. He supports the limp body of his friend in both his arms and moves to lay Merlin on his back again. He winces when Merlin's head lolls and he finally sees that Merlin's complexion has gone a shade paler, and his forehead is sweaty. "What's wrong with him, Gaius?"

Tucking a blanket up to Merlin's chin, he answers, "The poison is weakening him. He just needs some rest. You need it too. Go back to your chamber, Gwaine. Get some rest. It's getting late. You can come back in the morning. " Gwaine nods and makes to turn to the door but halts when he hears Gaius speaking again. He looks at the old man in the eye for a moment before Gaius finally speaks.

"I expect you to keep your promises."

Gwaine's mouth twitches into a smile and he nods. "Of course. See you tomorrow." he shut the door with a soft click. Gaius sighs and takes the book Gwaine has been reading before Merlin wakes. His eyes scan the page until he stops at the sentence Gwaine read aloud not long before.

...the person can still wake…

...but the body will weaken…

...the person can feel the poison coursing through his body…

He places the book on the table before sitting down to read more. Being unconscious when poisoned is torture enough for the patient, but to be able to wake, and feel the poison spreading? That is beyond cruel. He wonders if it is best to try to search for the antidote that may not exist, and let Merlin suffer the pain until the death comes.

He shuts his eyes, not wanting to picture Merlin at the final day. Looking like a skeleton, with pallid face, chest barely moving. Laboured breaths..

Or he can end Merlin's suffering now.

To be continued...

p/s: can anyone guess what promise that Gwaine made to Gaius?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Author's note: Hello everyone! Okay, this is the next chapter. I know it is not fair to leave you guys after the last chapter. However, I think this chapter is merely to fill in the gaps between last chapter and the climax. Hehe… so again, I apologise for the late update. Life has been hectic, with moving to a new campus for the final semester of the foundation programme to the campus located 4 hours away from home. Okay, I'm done rambling. Thank you to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed. You guys are amazing! Love you guys!!

Like before, this story is unbeta'ed, so feel free to point out any mistakes and please tell me what you think of this story.

Now on with the fic!

Previously…

He shuts his eyes, not wanting to picture Merlin at the final day. Looking like a skeleton, with pallid face, chest barely moving. Laboured breaths…

Or he can end Merlin's suffering now.

/break/

Driant is beyond irritated now. He keeps working, but he finds his thoughts wandering off to think about Merlin.

What if I was too late? What if Merlin has passed away a few days ago? He imagines the last time he sees Merlin.

The death-pale face, dried blood caking his nose and ears. He immediately pushes the horrid thought away. Merlin can't die. He's just too young and kind to die. But still, the question remains.

What actually happens to him?

Now sitting by the table at his post, he vaguely hears incessant sound of his leather boots tapping against the cold stone floor. Silently he counts the last few minutes before his work shift ends.

Truth to be told, he misses sitting with Merlin. Just chatting, about anything. Literally everything that they could talk about. Not to forget that he already treats Merlin as if the young servant is his little brother.

Despite the fact that he is a sorcerer waiting for his execution.

Driant sighs. He raises up one hand and brushes away strands of hair sticking to his forehead due to sweat. And being in a dark, torch-lit dungeon is not exactly helping things either. Even though it is winter now. That is why he jumps from his seat when he sees James, the guard taking over for the night shift, walking towards him.

"See you tomorrow, James." With that he starts climbing the stairs, taking the path leading towards the physician's chamber. Hopefully Merlin is alright.

/break/

The dry feeling in his throat is what wakes him up. Slowly he pries his eyes open, blearily taking in his surroundings. Th usual scuffling sound is absent, meaning that Gaius out. The room is dimly lit with a few candles, and Merlin is silently grateful for that. He is not sure if his eyes can bear the light yet. The fire is burning in the hearth, making the room nice and comfortable. A bit too warm for his liking, but still pleasant nonetheless. He blinks a few times, trying to remember why he wakes up in the first place.

Right. Water. Taking in a few deep breaths, he tries moving his arms to get up. Pain shoot through his entire body, and he bites his lip, forcing himself to his feet. After a few more groans and gasps he finds himself standing by the bed. Shrugging the blanket from his frail form onto the floor, he grips everything that he can get his hands on to support himself in his attempt of getting to the flagon of water on the table.

The warlock is halfway from the table when he fails to hold onto something. His hand gropes around only to find nothing. Panic overtakes him and he feels his body falling through the air and onto the floor. He lands on his side, nearly knocking the healing stab wound.

He hears someone screaming in pain, and wonders if there is anybody else in the room. It is then that he finally realises that the scream belongs to him because no one but him is in the room. Few streaks of tears escape his eyes, flowing down his cheeks. Why does it hurt so much?

The fire is eating his insides, leaving him gasping for breath. The poison is spreading faster than he thought. But it sure is taking its chance to kill slowly and painfully. He clenches his fist and tries to get up, gritting his teeth, so as not to cry out in pain again. Seriously, the last thing he needs right now is drawing people to the room, just because he fell down when he is trying to get some water.

After what feels like an eternity, he is on his knees, gasping for breath. The slight movement has left himself drained and breathless. He can feel the back of his tunic soaking wet with sweat. Okay, now stand up…

Suddenly pain flares in his chest, causing the young man to cough a few times. He covers his mouth with his fist and his body shakes with every rattling cough. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he faintly senses a tender hand rubbing his back a few times. The pain does not go thoroughly, but it subsides enough that he slowly turns to sit on the floor and opens his eyes to see who the person is. He can already guess, because he is so familiar with the same fragrance worn by the queen. And when he sees the purple dress, his assumption is confirmed.

Gwen.

She has a smile on her face, one that mirrors sadness, and Merlin decides that he does not like it. He opens his mouth to ask her what is wrong, but his voice fails him. So he settles by reaching his hand to Gwen's cheek and stroking it, trying to wipe the single tear strolling down her cheek.

"Merlin, I'm fine, really. How about you? What are you doing up?" she gets up to her feet, and tries to haul Merlin into standing. "Come on. Let's get you back to bed. You need to rest to get better."

Once he is seated on the bed, Merlin grasps Gwen's sleeve, and manages to breath out, "Water…" the queen turns to look at him from smoothing the blanket with one hand, while the other hand still being held by Merlin. "Alright, wait here. I'll get it for you." She whirls around, eyeing for a goblet and a flagon of fresh water. Gwen places some pillows behind his back so that Merlin remains in sitting position, knowing that her friend cannot support himself yet. Anymore. No, yet. Merlin smiles in gratitude, though he can barely keep his eyes open. Just as she makes for the table, the sound of knocking on the wooden door halts her steps. Maybe Gaius is back. "Come in."

As the door is being pushed open slowly, the face of a blonde-haired man is revealed. Gwen recognises him as the guard on duty who informs the knights about Merlin. Gwen refuses to imagine what will happen had the man not reported the other day. She makes a mental note to thank him later. Is his name Driant? Or what is it again…

Had the situation not been as worrying as now, Gwen will have laughed upon seeing the guard's face morphs into shock and fear, already a shade paler. "Uh… um… My Lady, I'm… I apologise for… for interrupting…" he turns and almost halfway to shut the door again when Gwen speaks.

"Are you here to see Merlin?"

Driant stands gaping for a while, surprised at being addressed directly by the Queen of Camelot herself. "Uh… I am, My Lady. But if I was interrupting…"

Gwen smiles, remembering exactly how she react during her days as a servant in the castle. Especially towards Uther. "No, no. It's fine. If you please fill some water from that flagon over there, into the goblet. I need to help Merlin drink." She turns and sits on a stool next to the cot. Touching Merlin to get him to open his eyes.

The servant blinks. "What is it?" Gwen does not answer, instead she just presses the goblet to his lips. Sipping the water as slow as manage considering the burning pain in his chest, Merlin relinquishes the taste of the refreshing water running down his throat. As he stops for a second, he says, "Thank you."

When the goblet is finally emptied, Gwen stands up, handing the goblet to Driant who has been watching silently. She presses her lips to Merlin's cheek, unaware of the raised eyebrows she receives from the guard at showing such fondness towards a servant. "Get some rest. I'll be back later."

As Gwen turns to look at Driant, he almost forgets to school his expression to a neutral one but manages in time nonetheless. "Will you sit with him until Gaius returns? I am sure he will be back soon." The guard bows before replying, "I will, My Lady." Satisfied with the promise, she walks to the door and steps out, pulling the door shut behind her.

When the door is finally closed with a soft click, Driant occupies the seat Gwen has been sitting on just now. "Merlin, how are you feeling?" he looks at the man lying on the cot and he can barely mask his surprise at seeing Merlin's face, pale, sweaty and all.

Merlin lets out a raspy chuckle. "Why has the question become everyone's favourite? I'm fine, as well as I can be." He forces his eyes open to see Driant more clearly. He frowns, before asking, "You… not working?"

"My shift has just ended a while ago. I just want to check on you. See how you're doing." Driant has opened his mouth to talk to the young man but decides against it when Merlin's eyes begin to droop. He puts his hand on Merlin's shoulder and the other pulls the blanket draped over Merlin's form up to his chest. "Just sleep. I will not disturb you, I'll just sit here."

Eyes already shut, Merlin says, "Talk to me, about anything." The guard blinks. "What do you want me to talk about?"

"Just…anything. What's the topic among the people of the lower town now? Or the servants?"

Driant chews his lips. He cannot bring himself to tell Merlin that he has been the topic of conversation of most people. What they have been talking about Merlin these past few days. Some are shocked, some curious, but others clearly disapprove of Merlin's existence in the castle and have been talking about execution.

For goodness sake, he's already dying here!

No, he will not tell Merlin that. He will not do that to him. "Have I told you about my sister?" he asks, and when Merlin shakes his head slowly, he continues, "Well, she is 5 years older than I am, and her name is…"

And that night, Merlin lets himself be comforted by the voice until he drifts off to sleep.

/break/

The morning has not done Arthur any good. At all. First, he has woken up later than he is supposed to, considering that he needs to attend council meeting. But he is the king, and he decides to ignore the look he received from the members of the council. And then the council meeting. The king sighs for the umpteenth time.

Of all those times he complained about the nobles' excessive concern about these taxes, those disputes… he feels like he rather being faced with all those issues, over being asked over and over about Merlin's fate. He hasn't got a chance to hold a trial yet and now Merlin is ill. Fatally ill.

Maybe this is for the best. That way he will not have to decide what to do with Merlin. Since he is already dying. However, the more Arthur tries to think so, the more conflicted he becomes. He cannot picture his life without his faithful manservant with him. Merlin seems to have successfully wormed his way into Arthur's life that he no longer knows how life before Merlin used to be. Picturing in his head the times when he laughed with Merlin, yelling at him, worrying about him when he drank poison for the then-Prince of Camelot—whom he barely knew, what more favoured—have crumbled his resolve.

No, Merlin cannot die like this. He has a lot of explaining to do. He cannot leave Arthur with unanswered questions about the magic. Tears prick at his eyes, as he tries to imagine what it would be like without Merlin. But even if Gaius managed to cure Merlin from the poison, he does not know what to do with Merlin. The fact that he is a sorcerer still remains known to almost every noble, servants and the people coming in and out of the castle.

Execution is already out of question. He is not that ruthless to ask Gaius to cure Merlin only to kill him later. If Arthur wanted Merlin dead he can just order Gaius to stop any attempt at treating him.

But the image of Merlin lifeless, pale, and cold in his mind makes him shudder. He knows right there and then that he doesn't want Merlin to die. Perhaps banishment is the best choice. Then again, he is at loss of what to decide for Merlin.

Even now, sitting at the table in his chamber, he realises that he longs for Merlin's advice and counsel. And since Merlin is incapable of doing so, he knows who he can talk to about this matter.

Guinevere.

/break/

It doesn't escape his notice that Gwaine refuses to talk to anyone anymore. Not even spare them a glance. He is almost sure that if he ever tries to so much as approach the rogue knight, the ending will not be good. His fellow comrades notice too, he knows this, but like him, they choose no to talk about it.

Silently grateful of his observant traits, he dwells on the drastic changes in Gwaine in just two days. He no longer goes to the tavern and barely speaks anymore. So unlike the Gwaine he knows. And Percival believes he knows why.

The only reason that makes Gwaine agree to help Arthur win Camelot all those years ago. The only reason keeping Gwaine in Camelot even though he has a choice not to. His first friend, Merlin.

Try as he might to, everyone can tell that Gwaine changes for the sake of Merlin. Percival's reverie is broken as he sees Gwaine rushes to the Gaius' chamber that morning, and he feels inclined to follow. He has intended to visit Merlin earlier, but keeps finding himself occupied with training and whatnot that he has almost forgotten. Now, with nothing in particular to do, he picks up his pace only to be met with Gwaine's expressionless face by the door.

"Gwaine," he breathes, trying to hide his startled expression. Of course Gwaine will notice someone following him.

"What are you doing here?" Gwaine asks, standing square by the door, shielding it with his body. His tone is cold, and a bit sharp, as if daring Percival to stop him.

However, Percival is not going to be swayed. He is taller and bigger than Gwaine, he can easily shove Gwaine out of the way if it comes to it. But he hopes it will not come to it, whatever it is. "I want to see Merlin. I heard that he's ill, is he… is he alright now?" Upon hearing that, Gwaine's shoulders slump a bit and he steps aside before pushing the wooden door open slowly. "See for yourself."

Percival peers past Gwaine's shoulder to see Gaius sitting at the table with a thick, hardcovered tome, his forehead scrunching in concentration that he almost jumps in surprise when the rogue knight addresses him. "Gaius. You sent for me. Is it about Merlin? Please tell me that you've found the cure, Gaius, and I will do everything I can help you with it."

The old physician sighs, before continuing, "Come here. Sit down." He gestures to the empty seat before him, one which used to be frequently occupied by Merlin, whether during meals or discussing things. Blinking his eyes to suppress the tears threatening to fall, he begins.

"I think I may have found the something. At first I thought that the poison is unbeknownst to people, but when I read this book," he pointed to the green book he has been reading when they just arrived, "I think I may have mistaken the poison to something new, when it is recorded here after all. The Morteus flower." Gwaine takes the book from Gaius and begins scanning the page. Hope begins to blossom his heart. "Then I'll just have to go to the blasted cave and get the leaves from this flower, so Merlin can be saved."

He gets up and from the seat and makes to turn towards the door, but Gaius' voice next makes him stop. "However, it might not be as easy as it may seem. Merlin has been poisoned with this flower before, back when Arthur was still a prince. If this is his first time poisoned, then the antidote will be the leaves of the Morteus, that is for certain. But this time, it will be different."

Gwaine is agitated. "How so?" Gaius closes the book and continues, "Even the symptoms are different from when he was poisoned all those years ago. To cure him, yes, we will need the leaves, but we also need…" here Gaius stops, hesitant to reveal more than he is supposed to, for fear of their reaction towards Merlin. The boy has got enough suffering as it is, he does not wish to cause more pain to his precious son in all but blood. So far they have shown no hatred nor fear of Merlin, but he isn't sure if it will still be so if he continued.

Upon seeing Gaius' hesitation, he flops back onto the seat. "What is it, Gaius? Please tell me, I need to help Merlin. We need to help Merlin." Percival is vaguely aware of Gwaine's gaze settling on his face when he speaks next. "He's right. Merlin does not deserve to die like this. We need to help him. He's a friend, and it's time we repay his friendship. I—we—will help him in every way we could. We just need you to trust us."

Gaius flicks his eyes towards his ward, having just woken up and has just settled down to sleep again a few seconds before Gwaine and Percival come. True, he does not deserve this kind of death. He deserves so much more for all he has sacrificed for Arthur and Camelot. He knows he needs to trust them to help him save Merlin. In fact, he knows that he does trust them.

"The leaves need to be scorched in dragon's fire."

Two pairs of eyebrows shot up.

To be continued…


End file.
